Consumers have learned to trust certain products from certain sources for specific use. They have also learned to associate or identify certain events, features and/or elements with not only the product but also its properties or features, i.e. the aroma or scent of PINESOL brand hard surface cleaner is associated with sanitary cleaning, a television commercial portraying a woman soaking her hands in dish detergent recalls an association that COLGATE PALMOLIVE brand dish detergent is soft on your hands while you “do the dishes,” consumers associate the CLOROX brand logo with bleach and whiter than white clothing.
While such associations may help to build powerful brand identity, such associations may have some commercial disadvantages for the owners of the goods. One such disadvantage is seen when the owner of the goods wants to extend the commercial line up of available products having such a powerful consumer association. While the consumers have the positive association for the existing product they may have no such positive associations with the new product, or line extension, especially when it provides a different consumer benefit. An example of this would be COLGATE PALMOLIVE brand dish detergent. As noted previously consumers already have formed a perception about not only the quality of the COLGATE PALMOLIVE product itself but also what properties it is most readily associated with, such as mildness on hands while washing. However, no such positive perception or consumer association with desirable attributes or properties would necessarily be present if the owners of the COLGATE PALMOLIVE brand dish detergent were to release a line of kitchen implements, such as sponges under the COLGATE PALMOLIVE brand. It would take time and money to produce in consumers a positive perception or consumer association with desirable attributes or properties. Contrast this with SCOTCH-BRITE brand sponges, a brand of sponges that already has positive perception or consumer association with desirable attributes or properties. However, if the makers of SCOTCH-BRITE brand sponges were to release a line extension of dish detergent, then they could face the same problem that the makers of COLGATE PALMOLIVE brand dish detergent would have in releasing a line extension of line of kitchen implements. Other similar adjacencies and/or related products that are highly desirable could be for example, the makers of FORMULA 409 brand hard surface cleaner releasing a line of paper towels, the makers of SPARKLE brand paper towels releasing a line of hard surface cleaners, the makers of SURF brand laundry detergent releasing a line of fabric treatment products, such as fabric softener, dryer sheets, pretreated, dye magnets, etc.
The problem is that while each of these different products has positive perception or consumer association with desirable attributes or properties in a category it is at present more difficult to use these in another adjacent category.